Survey found overwhelming support for program among UW students
SEATTLE, WA – The University of Washington Board of Regents voted Thursday, May 11th to approve a proposal for implementation of a universal student fee to fund the UPASS program. The proposal was brought forward by the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW), Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) and UW Commuter Services after a combination of factors caused the program cost to increase in recent years. ASUW and GPSS sought solutions through the Student Transportation Task Force and conducted a survey of the study body which found 79 percent of UW students in support of a Universal UPASS fee.
“I applaud the Regents’ decision to approve this proposal and save the UPASS program. It so important that we preserve sustainable, low cost transportation for UW students,” said Madeleine McKenna, President of the ASUW.
With implementation of the Universal UPASS, every student will be included in the program, thus broadening the funding base and stabilizing the cost over the next five years. 7,000 UW students were surveyed on the idea of a universal fee, and even the majority of those who currently choose to optout of the UPASS expressed support for a universal funding model. The new student fee of $76 will begin in the fall of 2011, and will remain at $76 for at least eight quarters, thus preserving predictability for students.
“We believed that maintaining the UPASS was a very important priority for our UW community, but only if we could lower the cost for students and maintain predictability. I am excited that we were able to achieve both of those goals,” said GPSS President Sarah Reyneveld.
In fact, most students will see their transportation costs decrease by 23 percent from today’s level as a result of this action. They will also avoid the projected cumulative fee increase of 50 percent that would have occurred over the next two years were the program to continue on an optout basis. By year two of the Universal UPASS, the U-PASS fee will be 48 percent lower than the projected UPASS fee were the program to continue on an optout basis, and the typical student will save $72 per quarter on UPASS fees.
The UPASS was originally established in 1991 by the ASUW, GPSS and UW Transportation Services. The program provides students with unlimited access to bus, train, and light rail services of six regional transportation agencies. Students receive many other benefits, such as Zipcar discounts, vanpool subsidies, discounted carpool parking, access to the NightRide shuttle service, as well as improvements to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. As a result, the program reduces traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions in the University District.
In recent years, several factors caused the cost of the UPASS program to increase, including the economic recession. As a result of declining local tax revenue, local transit agencies implemented fare increases. In addition, funds that the UW used to subsidize the program began to dry up. In 2008, Transportation Services was forced to increase the price of a UPASS from $50 to $99 in order to cover these costs and maintain the program. Student participation rates dropped and in response, student leaders began searching out solutions. Implementation of the new Universal UPASS will begin in the fall of 2011.
Contact:
Chris Jordan
ASUW Public Relations Coordinator
asuwopr@uw.edu
206-543-1780
I think this is ridiculous and just a way for the school to bring in more money. My daughter has NO need for the U-Pass and therefore should NOT be forced to pay for something she will not use. There needs to continue to be an OPT-OUT of U-Pass. How can you charge for services that are NOT being used? That is against the law isn’t it????
Benita,
Thanks for your response and for sharing your thoughts.
ASUW would love to keep the UPASS a voluntary program. Unfortunately, due to local budget cuts, the recession, and a number of other factors, the cost has continued to increase in recent years and was projected to become even more expensive. Transitioning to a universal model was the only way to preserve the program at a reasonable cost for students. Keeping the UPASS on an opt-out basis was unsustainable and would have meant the end of the UPASS as we know it.
It’s important keep in mind how much benefit our campus gets from the UPASS. The program significantly reduces traffic in the university district and is huge for air quality and for limiting our carbon emissions. Most importantly, students receive large discounts to local transit services. The majority of students do use their UPASS and 79 percent of students agree with making this a universal program. Even the majority of students who don’t use their UPASS support a universal fee in order to save the program.
The choice we had was either to make the program universal and keep costs affordable, or lose the program entirely. Given the benefit our students receive from the UPASS program, we think the Regents made the right decision.
Chris Jordan
ASUW Public Relations Coordinator
Chris,
My daughter lives in a sorority and walks to her classes, so how is she reducing emissions or traffic when she is not even driving? As some of the others on her, she is attending UW with student loans and therefore will be paying more unjustifiably for the UPASS. Your reasoning is not acceptable to me. The others who DON’T use or have a need for the UPASS should NOT be forced to pay for others who need it. So if they need us to pay for their lunch, will you be forcing us to do that in the future also? I notice you didn’t answer whether this was against the law or not. I am also awaiting your responses to Dave. Who was given the survey – the students who use the UPASS or a mix of users and non-users? I have no doubt it was majority of users. Why would non-users vote to pay for somebody else’s transportation????
So, will everyone be chipping in for my night parking pass? That’s what I use to get myself to my classes, so I would hope, continuing the logic of this new U-Pass program, we all chip in for parking, whether or not we use it. This is one of the most ridiculous policies.Ever.
@Sheri
Transportation is a universal to all students regardless whether your a day student or night student. When you apply for school you have to understand not only the cost of tuition, but the cost of living, transportation and such. If the U-Pass can motivate more patrons and students to take public transportation, the idea around the universal pass is working. Understandably not everyone is going to happy with a mandatory fee, but people also weren’t happy about the rising cost of the U-Pass so something had to be done. We made a decision as a college community to commit to the environment, commit to helping out our fellow students by lowering the cost, if your fortunate enough to be able to afford burning gas, car insurance and such be happy. Plus if you carpool with your U-Pass you get discounts on parking : ) I think the board and the students made the right decision on this one.
I already have an ORCA card where my former employer paid for it. I still have $400 on it and I have a reduced fare (handicap; I’m a disabled veteran). So, even though it is LESS for me to pay for it myself (I only need it 2 days a week at the MOST at the reduced rate), I still have to pay the $76?!? I’m already racking in a $6,000/qtr student loan (graduate school; non-state support EDP program; even though veterans in the regular program only pay 25% of that after their state-supported tuition WITH the 50% off for being vets), I have to worry about feeding my CHILDREN and soon husband when he goes to UW full time for his advanced degree (he’s an undergrad now; so we are paying for this TWICE! And he’s a vet too.)
This is social engineering at its best. Thanks, UW. My teen son doesn’t want to attend your school, and I wish I had a better option, but I don’t.
Re: Sheri,
Your suggestion does not “continue with the logic of this new U-Pass program” at all. A large majority of UW students use the UPASS, previously paying $99/qrt. The summed decrease in cost to all of them far outweighs the additional cost to small minority. This money is not wasted; in fact it is a very reasonable, and quite logical way to re-allocate funding. The University is saving money with this program.
The regents made the WRONG decision. I walk 2 miles to school and back each day. I don’t have $304 extra dollars to spend this year on transportation and should not be forced to spend it so other students pay less than it costs for the city of seattle to move them around using the bus system.
1 in 5 students surveyed do NOT want to fund the city’s transportation system. Why is it justifiable to make them? Making it “universal” does not make the program have a “reasonable cost” or affordable… $304 a year is not affordable for me. This just makes it less expensive for others who already demonstrated they could afford the $400 annual fee.
asuwopr says: “Transitioning to a universal model was the only way to preserve the program at a reasonable cost for students. Keeping the UPASS on an opt-out basis was unsustainable and would have meant the end of the UPASS as we know it.”
FINE, then change the unsustainable system but do not use my money to keep this broken system in place because taking money I don’t have out of my pay check to move other people around is NOT sustainable for me. Let those who USE the bus PAY the associated cost. If they cant afford it, offer a scholarship, build the cost into financial aid, or let them WALK like I do. WALKING is healthier AND safer AND better for the environment AND cheaper. If they live far away, they can bike. If they can afford the bus, they can bus. If they can afford to drive, they can drive.
Totally agree! Why are the people not using the UPass having to pay for the ones that are? I don’t understand the thinking in this or the justification!
I only just found out about this major overhaul, when I tried to find where to opt-out of the U-pass program. I completely agree with Ms. Fairchild and Ms. Lamp. Those of us students who are far-flung or in alternative programs (Evening Degree or MCDM, for example), are the ones bearing the brunt of the fee alteration.
By your own statement, the U-Pass system ‘as we know it,’ is already dead. You have shifted your funding base to require those who have no use for the pass (or *can’t* use the pass–I live almost an hour away, where there is NO bus service at the best of times, much less at 10pm when my classes get done) to pay for a portion of the fee to entice more standard day students to utilize it.
You say this move was made to ‘significantly reduce traffic.’ Excellent–then the new U-Pass should give parking discounts for those of us who come to campus at non-standard times, because we have been significantly reducing traffic all along. There should be SOME benefit to those of us who are paying for everyone else’s free rides. Like Ms. Lamp, however, I think that the Regents would be loath to give up income that they’ve already strong-armed us into paying.
The Regents may have made the ‘right’ choice to broaden the income base, but they basically ignored the alternative students’ needs when making it. Presumably, this is because they realize that we are, as a body, less able to fight back. Being a single mom who is trying to get a degree so that I can find a job that isn’t minimum wage, this is yet another blow to a strained pocketbook that I didn’t need.
Hi, Chris,
I’ve some questions about your comments.
Please reply this on the board, not by e-mail, so everyone can read your opinion.
The program significantly reduces traffic in the university district and is huge for air quality and for limiting our carbon emissions.
Q1. How do you know this? Did you study or do a research on this and check if this really reduced the traffic and carbon emissions? I want you to suggest any objective statistics.
Don’t you think that most of students who opted out the U-pass might live near the campus and they might not give any significant impact on the traffic in the campus?
79 percent of students agree with making this a universal program. Even the majority of students who don’t use their UPASS support a universal fee in order to save the program.
Q2. If your board did a survey on this past quarter, why your board didn’t post specific voting results such as how many students participated in the survey, and what percentage of them agreed with the universal fee and etc.
Also, your board didn’t give any official notice about the change to students by the campus e-mail.
Why your board didn’t do this? Is your board scared of students’ criticism, any objections, anger?
I think 1 student who does not use the U-pass has to support 3 u-pass users by losing the opt-0ut option. (b/c the fee goes down from 100 to 76 dollars)
Why students who live near the U-district, usually opt out the U-pass must support students who use their U-pass?
Q3. This is against the law, isn’t it?
I’d like to hear your opinion.
Thanks.